Huntsville gazette., 1887-11-26
LIGHTNING STROKES.
The Necessity of Employing Every Pre-
caution Against Their Fatal Results.

The Necessity of Employing Every Pre-
caution Against Their Fatal Results.
at is hardly possible to perfectly
guard person and property from the
disastrous results of the lightning
stroke; but large majority of the cases
reported could be prevented by the ex-
ercise of common sense precaution.
The man who takes shelter under an
isolated tree in thunder storm, does
his level best to expose himself to the
fatal stroke. Nearly or quite half of all
the casualties by lightning are invited
by the victims by taking shelter under
large trees, which must attract dis
charge of electricity if it comes any
where near them. Many people at work
in fields or travelling on the highway,
are unable to find shelter from sudden
th: zIer-storms; but when refuge must
bUtuken out of doors, let it be in the
smallest bushes or trees which can De
found. The Indians had tradition
that the beech tree was protected by the
Great Spirit from the lightning stroke,
and ths son of the forest always took
refuge under the boughs Of the beech;
but the only protection the Great Spirit
gam to the beech tree, was to cause
)(ker trees to grow taller and attract
tae electric discharge to themselves.
sst best, tree affords but little shelter
Mom a thunderstorm, and in most
.eases bush or fence would afford
equal protection with greatly lessened
danger.
The present cheapness of copper
brings the best lightning conductors
within the reach of all who can afford
any protection to their buildings. The
copper wire cable is the only rod that
should be used, as each strand of the
cable presents large conducting sur
face and a small rod is thus equal to
much larger solid conductor Instead
of high rods running up at one or two
points of the roof, each vulnerable point
of a building should have many
pronged point, and each should connect
with an encircled conductor around the
base of the roof, with two or more es-
capes to the moist earth, or into a els
tern. A building thus protected, will
be safe from all ordinary lightning
strokes, and persons in houses thus pro
tected need not take the precaution to
shut windows and doors or to elude
drafts of damp air, as lighting will
never leave a good conductor to fly off
to bad one 1t will come in on cur
rents of damp air if it can find no better
way to reach the earth, but it will al
ways adhere to q properly constructed
lightning-rod unless the conductor is in
sufficient to convey the charge of cleo
tricity. The possibility OF an over
charge suggests the wisdom of the
copper cable with its immense conduct
ting surface in small space. When in
buildings not protected by conductors,
windows and doors should be care
fully closed during thunder
storms, and inmates should
avoid proximity to chimneys, as they
are most likely to be made the impro-
vised conductors of an electric discharge;
but being bad conductors the charge is
liable to fly off with any moist current
in other directions. Lightning, with all
its alleged freaks, scrupulously obeys
the laws of nature and of common sense.
In point OF fact, what are often pub
lished as ''freaks of lightning" are no
freaks at all, but simply the electric
discharge following the best currents Of
attraction within its reach. 1t is amen
able to all the laws of common sense,
and common sense precautions onlyhre
necessary to Protect life and property
from its fatal stroke.
Houses are much less exposed to light
ming than barns. Especially in SUMMER,
when the heated gases from crops intite
lightning for many yards beyond the
attracting power Of the building its Elf,
unprotected barns are much exposed to
and, in most cases, the barn
is instantly enyeloped in flames. These
facts emphasize the necessity of light
ming conductors for every barn that is
made the rece ptacle of crops of hay and
grain; but if the average peripatftic
man is allowed to do the
job, as rule, he will only expose the
barn to greater danger than if left with
out conductors. Philadelphia Times.